How to Lead a community of faith.  

Rev. Fr. Joseph Kinda

In life I often find myself moving and acting on inspiration – inspiration that comes to me from above, from others with whom I minister, as well as through my prayer. It is most definitely the latter, prayer, from which I derive my direction, inspiration, motivation and style of Leadership. For purposes of this article, I will approach my style of leadership as Pastor of our Catholic Church, Saint Joseph of the Holy Family, in Harlem, New York as seen through the lenses of some readings I have completed on Styles of Leadership.

Leading Ones Organization from the Heart

My inspiration this morning, came from a Morning Offering Prayer that was presented to me as I waited to head to Mass at 9:00 am. The Prayer from Saint Padre Pio said, “You must speak to Jesus, not only with your lips, but also with your heart; actually, on certain occasions, you should speak with only your heart.” This quote truly defines the type of leader I tend to be in life. As a prayerful man that I am called to be, many of the theories outlined by Lubrin’s texts, hit home when they speak of and emphasize transformative, people-centered approaches to reaching a goal or outcome. “Let us start at the very beginning” as a very famous song tells us! In definition, Leadership, according to Lubrin, is “the ability to inspire confidence and support among the people who are needed to achieve organizational goals.” It is the role of the Leader to be knowledgeable of and on top of his or her game in the pursuit of the purpose and role of the organization. For me, our Church is called to be a place of prayer and thanksgiving and nurturing as we strive to live our lives as followers of Jesus and the precepts of our Catholic faith.
In a marvelous video Tim Westergren, Co-founder of Pandora, speaks to humility as the “truism” behind all those that are called to lead – for to him there is a tremendous value to leading with humility. He succinctly states in this brief presentation that the humble leader must set up a respectful and inclusive way to run a company with those who are there to “co-lead” with you.

With Concern, Organization, Direction and Prayer

He is very definitely saying that you cannot lead on your own, but you can do it with those around. You, seeing your mission and direction as the leader who humbly “embraces a horizontal and respectful working environment.” His point about injecting hierarchical structures with titles and labels within the organization truly hit home, for that structure takes away from the community-oriented approach to working together to achieve goals. He concludes that people are motivated by the leader they view as humble and is interested in the welfare of the group and the communal desire to attain the goals together. The leader’s humility teaches the members of the Church the importance of their own humbleness as an important member of the community of believers.
Westergren’s point that truly sums it all up for me is his statement that within this humble manner as leader, there is always room for and a need to show confidence and aggressiveness. It points out the ambition of the leader, as a motivator to keep all on target and in sync with the outcomes being sought after within the community. Within this humble style and approach, there is a need for communal accountability and a structure to keep the focus on the mission.
Without any doubt, the organizational leadership prescribed to any institution or group is of utmost importance. This very leadership leads all to their goals and the change that is being sought for the advancement of the group. How a leader goes about this in manner and procedure is the key to the success and outcomes of the institution. This is where Lubrin speaks of the styles of leadership that leaders often choose. As Lubrin tells us, Leadership outcomes can be accomplished and attained through various leadership styles and approaches:
Serve as a role model for the desired attitudes and behaviors.
Impose a new approach through executive edict.
Establish a reward system that reinforces the culture.
Foster understanding and conviction by helping people throughout the organization to  understand why the change is necessary.
Sponsor training and development programs that support the organizational change.
Lubrin very distinctly touches upon the type of leadership that hits home for me when he speaks of three types of Charismatic Leaders namely, the socialized charismatic, the personalized charismatic and lastly the celebrity charismatic. “The outstanding characteristic of charismatic leaders is that they are charismatic, and therefore can attract, motivate or lead others.” (Lubrin, 77).
Such an approach is letting us know that the humble, people-oriented way is the key and the manner to go in leading. It is better to have your congregation working with you and beside you than to have them only behind you and not necessarily with you. The continual call of Pope Francis who desires to see more lay people leading in our catholic church comes about. This totally echoes Him who states that He is “among us as one who serves.” (Lk 22:27, King James Bible). As Sirek emphasizes in the video mentioned above, the role of the leader is to create a world where everyone wakes up inspired to go to work. The leaders of these kinds of highly successful companies create environments where people love to come to work for, they love working with each other. They care for each other. They trust each other. These types of leaders prioritize leaders over numbers and results. One might ask why?
Are the end results not the top priority? Well, Sirek answers the questions with a Yes and a No! His answer is quite obvious and to the point when he states, “If people feel that the leaders care and support them then the people work to advance the numbers and the results.” According to Sirek, getting results and figures of an overly successful company stems from what the company prioritizes, which is the people. Lastly, he drives home the point that the Leader is compared to the role of a parent whose role is to nurture and take care of those in his/her charge. With this approach the leader feels that it is his/her job to have the people in their charge grow, learn, and thrive in self confidence in more ways than they could ever think possible which brings the results and outcomes they desire to fruition. These are the leaders of organizations that have been making the “greatest impact on the world.” When one can apply this approach to a Church setting with the Pastor as Leader, it is time to see the impact that Church can have on the world of Christianity. With such intentions and goals, I have no doubt that the main actor in our Christians communities building up, the Holy Spirit, will enhance and make it always happen. It’s so encouraging to hear parishioners who by the week are in a hurry to be on Sunday, this day whereby they will encounter brothers and sisters sharing true love. What a blessing for the leader of such a community!
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Bible of Jerusalem, (Luke 22:27).
DuBrin, Andrew J. (2019) Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills.
Stanley, Chris. (2016, September 30). The Right Model of Leadership. WOBI – World of Business Ideas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsqUUuY621g